Poetry Month at TheBody.com: HIV/AIDS-Related Poems From Our Readers

From TheBody

April 2012

April is National Poetry Month in the U.S., so throughout the month TheBody.com will be collecting original poems about living with, or being affected by, HIV/AIDS. You can read, enjoy and comment on all the poems here. Thanks to everybody who submits!

You can email your poems to content@thebody.com with the subject line "Poetry: [Title of Your Piece]." Be sure to specify what name or alias you'd like to use, as well as any details about yourself that you feel comfortable letting readers know -- your age, the city you live in, your gender, etc. Please note that if we post something you send us, it can be Googled, so be sure to think through what kind of information you want to provide.

If you'd rather send us a poem without having to use email, use our feedback page. You can leave out any contact information, but please write "POETRY" at the top of the form so we can spot it easily.

Poems From Our Readers

A Poem by Jim S. (Posted on May 10)
"because there are 36 states / that criminalize HIV / even if you disclose. / It's their word against yours / and a looming prison sentence!"

A Poem by Mr. D (Posted on April 30)
"He's early and knows what to expect. / I'm five minutes late and I smile a plastic smile. / Fill out more paper work. / I'm check marks and signatures."

A Poem by Hayden (Posted on April 27)
"Finding my way / to keep moving forward, / continue living, feeling, / being sane."

A Poem by Roberto D. Barnes (Posted on April 27)
"If I died, and then reawakened, / maybe that fear of being a stranger to death / will disappear and I can become / less afraid of death and begin to live."

A Poem by Bonetta Spratley (Posted on April 23)
"Some are still here and some / have gone on. / Just always remember we're / the Chosen Ones."

A Poem by JandJ (posted on April 17)
"My dear friend, when you came into my life, my appreciation for people went much further than I ever thought it could reach."

A Poem by Monwabisi (posted on April 16)
"Sixteen hundred kilometers / away from home. / I was home and he was not. / Yet he only thought of home."

A Poem by Rob (posted on April 10)
"I know where I came from. I know I can't go back. / I am positive."

A Poem by Justin (posted April 9)
"I write this poem for all to know / I made it through those days. / The things I thought would happen / never came in any ways."

Two Poems by Brooke Davidoff (posted April 6)
"statues can chip / but it takes a lot to tear them down / If you don't laugh / life will kill you"

Two Poems by L. Robert Westeen (posted April 4)
"4 years he said he loved me, / but didn't protect me. // 4 years I loved him, / and how he repaid me"

A Poem by Khafre Abif (posted April 4)
"No, I am not / waiting for death to arrive, / No, I am not / living my life in silence"

A Poem by Dennis (posted April 2)
"it is wishful thinking / to have no strife / to not bear the weight / that comes with this life"

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